Hallelujah Shoes

This post was inspired by my friend, Julie, and her post about grocery shoppping with four young children, and how the Lord provided help from an unlikely source just when she needed it.  It brought to mind an incident that happened to me a few years ago, and I wanted to share it.



                                                  These are my Hallelujah Shoes.

Okay, I know you are thinking, "There's absolutely nothing special about these shoes!"  Thats right.  The shoes themselves aren't anything to write home about.  But the purchase, well, it was special to me.
So here's the story of the Hallelujah Shoes.

A few years back, my husband and I were having a child-free day in Pigeon Forge.  (We only had Bella at the time) We were browsing the outlet stores and I decided to go into one of the shoe stores.  I had a pair of brown clogs (exactly identical to the ones pictured above) that I really liked.  I had worn them for two winters, and they were coming apart.  Literally.  The insole was coming out, the stitching was coming loose, the soles were worn away.  They were shot.  But I liked them so much I wanted to find another pair just like them.

The problem was, I didn't want to pay a lot for them.  I'm pretty thrifty when it comes to buying clothes and shoes for myself.  I admit I don't shop at Goodwill or the thrift stores ~ even though I have absolutely nothing against wearing used clothes, I just usually dont have the time or patience to go hunt for what I need.  But I very rarely buy clothes or shoes for me or my girls that isn't on sale, and I never shop at the more expensive stores.  I don't buy things for myself until it becomes a need. 

Anyway, I went into the shoe store, which of course was having their monthly "Huge Clearance!" and "Lowest Prices of the Season!" sale. I asked God, "Please let my shoes be on sale!..I walked around until, sure enough, I found THE shoes. I tried on the new pair and boy, did they look and feel. good.  And surprise! they were on sale!  I picked up the box and headed to the cash register.

In the fifteen seconds it took me to walk to the line at the front of the store, I was already trying to talk myself out of those shoes.  Yes, they were on sale, but it was still a little more than I wanted to spend...I could use that money for other things....did I really need them?  Wouldn't my old shoes last one more winter?

As I stood in line, argueing with myself, clutching that shoebox to my chest, an amazing thing happened.  I remembered thinking one  simple thought," Lord, please let them ring up even cheaper!"

One heartbeat later, the woman in front of me, a stranger, suddenly turned to me.

"I have this coupon for an extra %15 off that I can't use...would you like it?"

Would I?! Yes, ma'am!

So I bought the shoes, and I have always called them my Hallelujah shoes, 'cause that's what I felt like hollering when I left that shoe store.  They always remind me that God hears and considers our smallest request.

You can read my friend Julie's blog posts at www.cherokeechix.com .

How does your garden grow?

As many of you know, we have decided to homeschool Bella, and later, Abby.  I used this past school year as a "practice year" for kindergarten, as homeschooling is a completely new journey both for me as a teacher and for Bella as a student.  She has done extremely well.  She is now a beginning reader, and just as importantly, she loves to be read to.  She frequently asks me to read to her while she is eating lunch and I am happy to oblige!  We finished a kindergarten math book (Saxon Math K) and she really enjoyed it, especially the manipulatives.  We have also almost completed Book 1 of Explode the Code.

I decided that a unit study would be a good, fun way to end our year.  Since planting season is upon us, I picked a Garden unit study.  I purchased and downloaded a unit study by Amanda Bennett to use as a guide, and off we went!

We have had such a good time with this! I have been able to incorporate reading, writing, art, science, and Bible all into this unit.  We learned about Claude Monet and looked at several examples of his artwork.  In the picture below, we are attempting to paint like Monet...we had fun, but I'm not sure it turned out quite as good as the original!

 We also learned some new vocabulary words, such as: row, dig, stem, etc.  I had Bella copy these into her Garden Journal, then I wrote the definition she gave me for each one!  We also made a garden collage out of magazine clippings, talked about the differences between fruit and vegetables, and made a flower out of pattern blocks.  For a Bible lesson, we read the parable about "A sower went forth to sow" out of the book of Matthew, and we talked about having "good ground" for the seed of God to grow!

                And of course, at the end of all this, we planted some seeds!  Bella chose tomoatoes, squash, broccoli, beans , and carrots.

                                     Abby helped plant the seeds!

 
                              Just a few short days later, we were excited to see our seeds sprout!

                             My sweet Daddy plowed us a real garden!

                   But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who has ears to hear, let him hear."  Matthew 13:8-9

Yeah, but its a dry heat....

After returning from the Disney trip, I have to admit I was ready to stay home for the rest of the year.  Which, if you know my husband, was a total pipe dream!  He loves to be on the go, especially with "the girls".   Because of horrible flight delays on our Disney trip we had a voucher with the airline, and we also had a "buddy pass" ticket through our AmEx credit card.  Between that and knowing how upset I was about losing my camera with all our Disney pictures on it, he decided we should go back. To Disney. This year. 

And while I greatly appreciated his effort to replace our pictures, the thought of going back to Disney so soon did not sit well with me.  We were at a standoff!  He was determined not to waste free airline tickets, I was very determined not to go back to Disney so soon!  So one day as we were discussing the issue again, I said (quite exasperatedly!), "If you want to fly somewhere, why don't we go to Arizona and visit Stephen and Jamie!"

He took the idea and ran with it, and we discovered that in order to not conflict with his work schedule, our fall beach trip, and the hot summer weather in AZ, we were going to have to go in just a few short weeks, at the end of March.  We booked our airline tickets, and before we knew it were were Arizona bound!

The girls did wonderful on the flights, which were - Thank you Lord!- all on time.  We arrived in Arizona late on a Saturday night, and by the time we got a rental car and got to our hotel, it was 1:30 a.m...4:30 a.m. Tennessee time!  I'd like to report that we slept very late the next morning, but my girls get up early regardless.  A few short hours later we were up and on our way to Stephen and Jamie's house, and what a reunion we had!  Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Kenneth, me, and the girls at the Grand Canyon.  It was so beautiful!  

 Me and Abby with my awesome sis-in-law, Jamie.  Despite the

distance that separates us, she is one of my dearest friends!

Sweet cousins!  Lexi, Bella, Lucas, and Abby.  These kids played from

sun up till sun down!

One of my very favorite pictures from our trip.  My brother-in-law

and Lucas on the flight line at Luke AFB.  We are so proud of

Stephen's service to our country, and the sacrifices that he and his

family make.  As he showed us around the base, his pride in

his job was evident.

We spent several days in Arizona, and Stephen and Jamie graciously welcomed us into their home.  I admit, I was leery of staying in their house.  After all, the saying "you don't know someone till you live with them" applies to extended family!  At the conclusion of the trip, I told Jamie if they ever move to TN we need to build a duplex with a communal kitchen!  The kids had a blast playing and we felt so welcome. 

Besides the excursion to the Grand Canyon, and our trip to the AFB, we also spent a morning at a Wildlife Zoo, which the kids really enjoyed.  And we got to spend a lot of time just hanging out together, talking and cooking and boy did we eat good! Stephen can make some mean smoked barbeque, and oh, those tacos!

It ended up being one of my favorite vacations ever. 

Wooly Day!

On April 14, a local historic site called Rocky Mount hosted their annual

"Wooly Day".  I saw an article in the paper about it and thought it might

look like something my girls would enjoy.  (And count as a good "field trip"!)

I called their Nana, who is usually game for these adventures, and we headed out. 

It turned out to be a very enjoyable day for all involved...except maybe the sheep.



Wooly Day gets its name from the fact that this is the day when the sheep are sheared.

They do not seem to particularly enjoy this, especially since it means being separated from

their new lambs for a while.  The girls loved petting the baby lambs, and Abbigail was brave

enough to pet one of the adults- with Nana close by!



 The sheep leave an oily residue on your hands if you pet them, because their skin secretes lanolin.  The wool must be washed several times to remove this.

One of the exhibits showed the making of lye soap.  Bella and Abby try it out!

One of the most popular exhibits was candle making!  For $2 the kids could make their own
candle...but there ended up being a lot of adults in line, because it takes many dips into the wax
to make even a small candle, and little ones lose patience so quickly!  Nana finished the girls' candles
while they had a snack in the shade!

We also saw demonstrations on spinning, weaving, archery, and fireplace cooking.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon.  I decided that the good Lord sure put me in the right time in history, because I'm afraid I would have made a very poor pioneer....you would have found me in the springhouse, the only cool spot on the farm!

Disney World Part II....The White Flag of Surrender

I just reread my first "Disney" post....wow. It was pretty negative. But accurate, since that's pretty much how I felt during the first few days of our trip! Now I want to focus more on the positives! They were:

1. Seeing my kids' faces! Oh, how those little eyes lit up when we saw Tinkerbell fly over the palace before the fireworks! And Abby, who watched Snow White like a hawk until she came over to meet us at dinner. Bella squealing with delight on the Kali River Rapids as we all got drenched!

2. Family! My husbands parents and his brother from Erwin (and wife Joy!) went with us. But a special treat was being able to see my brother in law who lives in Az and his family! We only see them a few times a year. It was so special getting to love on my niece and nephew, they are precious kiddos. Also, I got to spend some time with their mom, Jamie, who I dearly love... in spite of her tattoos ;-).

3. The rides! Like my husband (but to a lesser degree!) I have never outgrown my love of rides! My favorite was probably the Rockin' Rollercoaster, although Test Track and the Tower of Terror were also very fun.

So, after five days of Disney parks, we had to get up at 2:30 (A.M.!!!) to catch the Misery- um, Magic Express back to the airport for a 6:30 a.m. flight that was mercifully on time. We were in our house by 11:30 and we ALL went to bed.

And now for the very very worst part...When I went to unpack later that day, I discovered that my camera, which I had last used to take a picture of the girls on the airplane, was nowhere to be found. Thats right, folks. I lost my camera. And subsequently spent the rest of the weekend crying over my lost pictures. I adore my pictures of my baby girls, and oh, how it hurt to lose them!

We emailed the airline and called the airport to no avail. Most importantly, we prayed about it! And no, I haven't gotten my camera back. (yet.)

Disney Part 1, or "Why is there conjunctivitis in the Happiest Place on Earth?"

Many months ago, my father-in-law generously offered to take his three sons and their families on a vacation. Someone- I strongly expect my beloved husband- suggested Disney and there was no turning back. So after months of planning, reservations, airline tickets, and excitement, it was time to fly out on March 3!
Before I get into this, let me add a disclaimer: I do not dislike Disney, even though it may sound like it at some points in my story...my opinion was colored by circumstances, and everything gone smoothly I'm sure I would be as infatuated with WDW as my two year old currently is!
So anyway. To start the trip off on the wrong foot, our first flight was delayed. Very delayed. By the time they decided to tell us they were putting us on a different flight, we had of course missed our connection in ATL. And by the time we got to WDW that night - several hours late- we had missed the Cinderella dinner we had schedule. Luckily the kids took it in stride and onward we went.
Day two began with a bang, or should I say a cough. Abbigail woke up terrible congested and her cough continued to worsen through the day and the night. Day two was also miserably (for Fl!) cold and windy. We shivered our way through the Magic Kingdom. I was not feeling the magic at this point!
Day three, Bella woke up with pink eye. That's right, full blown conjunctivitis in her right eye. We had just finished several days of drops just before coming to WDW, and by some miraculous foresight that is totally uncharacteristic of me, I had packed the drops. Having them was one thing, getting her to let me put them in her eye was another. Granted, she was tired from travel and excitement, and she was tired of having drops put into her eyes. Nonetheless, several meltdowns of epic proportions ensued, until I had my own meltdown and ended up sobbing on a bench outside "Finding Nemo", with my mom on the cell phone and a wet wipe for my snotty nose.
*Note: a meltdown is only a true meltdown if you do it publicly. Hiding in the stalls of the ladies room to cry is just being girly.
After some encouragement from my mom, and giving "Eye drop duty" to Kenneth, things looked up. He came up with a way to get the eye drops in, meanwhile I took a $30 taxi trip across Orlando to a Walgreens and came back armed with a humidifier, Vaposteam, and cough syrup for Abby's bad cough.
Okay, I realize I haven't put in any of the good stuff. The kids were loving getting to meet princesses, seeing fireworks, and oh, boy, the rides! They loved the Snow White ride, Peter Pan, Pirates, Winnie the Pooh...my husband even decided that heck, if the four year old is tall enough for the Tower of Terror then by golly she should ride it. And ride it she did. She actually did awesome, although when we got off she said, "Do I have to ride that again?"
By the day we went to the Animal Kingdom the weather was much warmer, and we were mastering the art of traveling with 3 strollers, 4 kids, and 8 adults. We all loved the Safari ride, and my niece Lexi rode the Everest Expedition, her very first roller coaster!
Part Two of our trip coming soon...

ihomeschool

Recently, my husband and I were eligible to renew our cell phone contract, which of course means a phone upgrade. I had been steadfastly against getting a smart phone. "I don't need to check my email from the mall," I said. "I don't want to pay for a data plan," I said. "I just need to be able to talk and text," I said.

My husband had already decided to take the plunge and get a Droid 4, so we waited a few days until they came on the market to go renew our plan. And in those fateful few days, something very important happened...

My friend Kim got an iphone.

She came over for dinner one night and let me fiddle around with it, and I admit it grew on me pretty quickly. So I announce to my husband that, "I want an iphone!" Being the wonderful man he is, he took my complete opinion reversal in stride, and off we went to Verizon. And quickly we were in possession of phones that (I'm convinced!) are smarter than we are...

I have to admit, after the first few days of not knowing how to do anything, and wondering why in the world I really needed a phone with a flashlight app...I had some buyers remorse. But the more I learned about the phone, the more I liked it.

I have my Bible on my phone.
I can listen to Christian music on Pandora.
Bella loooooves playing Angry Birds.

But this morning was the clencher. During homeschool, our Bible lesson was on "David and Goliath". We read about David wearing Kind Saul's heavy armor, and her activity was to put "armor" stickers on a picture of David. While she was doing this, I used my phone to look up Ephesians 6:14-17 and read it, as it pertained to the lesson: " Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of rightousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith..." And when she asked why he had armor on his legs, I explained what greaves were, then looked it right up on wikipedia to show her a real pair....

I'm sold. I may create an entire K-12 homeschool curriculum that can be done using a pencil ,a notebook, a and an iphone....